Alfonso Susanna

Botanic Institute of Barcelona

The current biodiversity crisis is driven by multiple factors and one that is gaining relevance is climate change. Extensive research has been conducted on the impact of climate pattern alterations on species across diverse ecosystems. However, East African mountain systems, despite their unique characteristics, remain understudied. The plateaux an...

Rhaponticoides nuriae is described as a species new to science. Its affinities within the genus are analyzed and discussed. The new species is obviously very different from the two described species in Morocco and can be easily distinguished from those species by its distinct appendage with a very wide scarious margin and by its longer achenes. Acc...

Understanding the richness and diversification processes in the Mediterranean basin requires both knowledge of the current environmental complexity and paleogeographic and paleoclimate events and information from studies that introduce the temporal dimension. The Carthamus-Carduncellus complex (Cardueae, Compositae) constitutes a good case study to...

The Irano-Turanian region is one of the world’s richest floristic regions and the centre of diversity for numerous xerophytic plant lineages. However, we still have limited knowledge on the timing of evolution and biogeographic history of its flora, and potential drivers of diversification remain underexplored. To fill this knowledge gap, we focus...

The floras on the highest mountains in tropical eastern Africa are among the most unique floras in the world. Despite the exceptionally high concentration of endemic species, these floras remain understudied from an evolutionary point of view. In this study, we focus on the Carduus-Cirsium group (subtribe Carduinae) to unravel the evolutionary rela...

Carduncellus matritensis es uno de los seis endemismos de la Península Ibérica catalogados como extintos; solo era conocido de una única localidad, el Cerro Negro, en la misma ciudad de Madrid. Su extinción se ha atribuido a causas antropogénicas, dado el crecimiento de la ciudad de Madrid. Su estatus taxonómico ha sido controvertido debido a la es...

The Afromontane and Afroalpine areas constitute some of the main biodiversity hotspots of Africa. They are particularly rich in plant endemics, but the biogeographic origins and evolutionary processes leading to this outstanding diversity are poorly understood. We performed phylogenomic and biogeographic analyses of one of the most species-rich pla...

The plant Carduncellus matritensis (Cardueae, Compositae) was formerly known from only a single locality: Cerro Negro in Madrid Province, Spain. It is one of the six endemic species of the Spanish flora considered to be extinct. The causes of its presumed extinction were anthropo-genic: the growth of the city of Madrid subsumed the locality into th...

Floristic relationships between the Irano-Turanian and Mediterranean regions have been known from old. However, only a few biogeographical analyses based on molecular data have evaluated the history of steppe plants within the Mediterranean basin. Our study aims to contribute to a better understanding of the migratory and diversification processes...

Centaurea subsection Phalolepis has been thoroughly analyzed in previous studies using microsatellites in four centers of speciation: Anatolia, Greece, the Italian Peninsula and the Iberian Peninsula. Evidence suggests a correlation between taxon diversity and mountains. This group constituted a good case study for examining the mountain–geobiodive...

Las consecuencias no deseadas de aceptar traducciones posteriores a 1753 de obras prelinneanas se analizan brevemente utilizando el caso de Vaillant y el género Rhaponticum como un oportuno ejemplo. Se propone una modificación del actual código de nomenclatura botánica.

The fate of the enigmatic species Carduncellus matritensis looked clear when the type locality in Cerro Negro was razed by the growing of Madrid at the beginning of the XX centur y: it was officially listed as one of the six extinct species in the Red Book of the Spanish flora. The controversy on the identity of the taxon continued on the basis of...

The fate of the enigmatic species Carduncellus matritensis looked clear when the type locality in Cerro Negro wasrazed by the growing of Madrid at the beginning of the XX centur y: it was officially listed as one of the six extinctspecies in the Red Book of the Spanish flora.The controversy on the identity of the taxon continued on the basis ofthe...

The Carthamus‐Carduncellus complex is formed by approximately 50 taxa that are widely distributed throughout the Mediterranean basin and western Asia. The generic delineation of this complex has always been controversial. Currently, there are three widely diverging taxonomical proposals, suggesting that the complex is formed by (1) a single genus,...

A new endemic species, Centaurodendron schilleri, is described from the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. This is the third species of the endemic genus, Centaurodendron, which is closely related to Plectocephalus of the Chilean mainland. The new species is confined to Alejandro Selkirk Island, whereas the previously known species, C. dracaenoides...

Groups of recent speciation are characterized by high levels of introgression and gene flow, which often confounds delimitation of species on a DNA basis. We analyzed nuclear DNA sequences (ETS spacer and the AGT1 gene) obtained from a large sample of the C. calocephala complex from the Balkan clade of Centaurea sect. Acrocentron (Compositae, Cardu...

Centaurea achilleifolia (C. sect. Melanoloma) is illustrated and described as a new species, with records in the Oriental Middle-Atlas of Morocco (Bou Naceur mountain). It differs from similar taxa in the section by its peculiar bipinnatisect leaves, which recall some Achillea species.

Cousinia sect. Stenocephalae is a mainly Iranian section of the genus and the second largest section of Cousinia after C. sect. Cynaroidae. Its members are mainly distributed in Iran. Using nrDNA ITS sequences, together with morphological evidence where possible, we tested the monophyly of C. sect. Stenocephalae as well as the related C. sect. Albi...

Climate changes are top biodiversity shapers, both during the past and future. Mapping the most climatic stable and unstable zones on Earth could improve our understanding of biodiversity distribution and evolution. Here, we present a set of maps based on a global scale, high resolution (ca. 5 km) new Climate Stability Index (CSI). The CSI consider...

Centaurea peltieri (C. sect. Melanoloma) is described and illustrated as a new endemic species from the Oriental High Atlas of Morocco. The morphology of involucral bracts is the discriminant feature separating it from other closely related species of the section.

Pio Font Quer (Lérida 1888 – Barcelona 1964), fue un ilustre botánico, farmacéutico, químico, militar, divulgador científico y autor de más de 250 publicaciones botánicas. Llevó a cabo una importante investigación sobre la flora del norte de Marruecos, que a principios del siglo XX estaba escasamente estudiada. Para ello, organizó campañas de recol...

Pio Font Quer (Lérida 1888 – Barcelona 1964), fue un ilustre botánico, farmacéutico, químico, militar, divulgador científico y autor de más de 250 publicaciones botánicas. Llevó a cabo una importante investigación sobre la flora del norte de Marruecos, que a principios del siglo XX estaba escasamente estudiada. Para ello, organizó campañas de recol...

A phylogeny based on analysis of six DNA sequence markers (ITS, ndhA intron, rpl32-trnL, rps3, rps16 intron, and rps16-trnK) is used to infer ancestral areas, divergence times, and reconstruct the biogeographical history and evolution of 150 of the 183 (82%) species of Muhlenbergia. Our results suggest the genus originated 9.3 mya in the Sierra Mad...

Polyploidization can have a significant ecological and evolutionary impact by providing substantially more genetic material that may result in novel phenotypes upon which selection may act. While the effects of polyploidization are broadly reviewed across the plant tree of life, the reproducibility of these effects within naturally occurring, indep...

Within the genus Centaurea L., polyploidy is very common, and it is believed that, as to all angiosperms, it was key in the history of its diversification and evolution. Centaurea tentudaica is a hexaploid from subsect. Chamaecyanus of unknown origin. In this study, we examined the possible autopolyploid or allopolyploid origin using allozymes and...

Generic delimitations within the cosmopolitan Carduus-Cirsium group (i.e., "thistles") have a long history of taxonomic confusion and debate. We present the most comprehensive molecular phylogeny of the group to date to test generic limits, reconstruct the evolution of pappus type, and elucidate the role of chromosomal evolution. We offer two solut...

The classification of the family Compositae (Asteraceae) has been much improved in the last decades by the application of molecular methods culminating in the recompilation published in 2009, Systematics, evolution, and biogeography of Compositae . Additional evidence of relationships has come from the use of high‐throughput sequencing methods. Our...

The subtribe Saussureinae is a highly speciose group with more than 600 species distributed in the Northern Hemisphere and is particularly species‐rich at the high mountains of central and eastern Asia. Saussurea and Jurinea are the two main genera described within the subtribe. However, up to 15 satellite genera are recognized in some recent taxon...

In this study, micromorphology of an involucral bract and inner and outer dimorphic cypselae of the relict Amphoricarpos elegans, endemic from western Caucasus, is examined using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and presented here for the first time. The middle involucral bract is nearly glabrous, with a reticulate-rugulose surface and an oblon...

Using microsatellites and cpDNA sequences, we have analyzed genetic diversity and structure and evaluated levels of introgression of 19 populations from the Centaurea alba complex from subsection Phalolepis and six taxa from the closely related subsections Centaurea and Willkommia from the Iberian Peninsula. Genetic differentiation among the differ...

The Mediterranean Basin is a biodiversity hotspot, where islands play a key role because of their high biological diversity, degree of endemicity and human pressure. One of these islands, Sardinia, is a good evolutionary laboratory, especially for the study of complex genera, such as Centaurea. In particular, endemic species of Centaurea sect. Cent...

Anatomical analysis of root, rhizome, leaf, peduncle and inflorescences has been conducted on Balkan Amphoricarpos taxa, A. neumayerianus (Vis.) Greuter subsp. neumayerianus, A. neumayerianus subsp. murbeckii Bošnjak, A. autariatus Blečić & Mayer subsp. autariatus and A. autariatus subsp. bertisceus Blečić & Mayer using light microscopy (LM) and sc...

The comparative study of plant morphology, intertwined with anatomy, has always been the basis for plant systematics, which strives to explain diversity , evolution and phylogeny of plants. In the molecular era, some authors diminish importance of morphology and especially anatomy in systematic and phylogenetic studies of plants. However, are molec...

Challenges in the collection of vouchers, either because of the physical properties of the material (species difficult to collect or to press, e.g., palms, cycads, toxic plants, and cacti) or because drying may have a negative effect on taxonomic characters (e.g., colour), recommend the use of photographs to complement herbarium specimens. In a ser...

The small Neotropical tribe Liabeae (Compositae) is currently classified in four subtribes: Liabinae, Munnoziinae, Paranepheliinae, and Sinclairiinae. As currently accepted, Paranepheliinae includes seven genera, Chionoppapus, Erato, Microliabum, Paranephelius, Philoglossa, Pseudonoseris, and Stephanbeckia, distributed especially throughout the And...

Premise: Hybrid capture with high-throughput sequencing (Hyb-Seq) is a powerful tool for evolutionary studies. The applicability of an Asteraceae family-specific Hyb-Seq probe set and the outcomes of different phylogenetic analyses are investigated here. Methods: Hyb-Seq data from 112 Asteraceae samples were organized into groups at different ta...

Comparative micromorphological analyses were conducted on five members of the Xeranthemum group, both perennial (Amphoricarpos exsul and Shangwua masarica) and annual (Chardinia orientalis, Siebera pungens and Xeranthemum inapertum), using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and SEM coupled with an energy-dispersive spectrometer (SEM-EDS) in order t...

In this paper, we investigated a set of narrow endemics of Centaurea subsect. Phalolepis from the mountains of South Italy (mainly Calabria and Salento), segregated from the widespread species Centaurea deusta, using microsatellite (SSR) markers. The goal was to analyse the genetic makeup (levels and structure) of C. deusta and the segregated speci...

Comparative anatomical and micromorphological analyses of root, stem, peduncle, leaf and inflorescence have been conducted on two Xeranthemum species, X. annuum and X. cylindraceum, by light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The main goal of the study was to examine the most important anatomical features and to find new valid...

In this paper, we analyzed the capitula essential oil composition of seven Centaurea species, six of which belong to Centaurea calocephala complex, and the related species Centaurea melanocephala Pančić (subgenus Acrocentron, tribus Cardueae, subtribus Centaureinae) which inhabit Balkans Peninsula. The volatile organic compounds were extracted by s...

The paper presents micromorphology of the cypselae of Xeranthemum cylindraceum as revealed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and their fatty acid composition as determined on a gas chromatograph coupled with a flame ionisation detector (GC-FID). The cypselae are densely hairy, straight, ribbed, narrowly obconical to obovoid. Micromorphological...

As part of a taxonomic study in Gnaphalieae and other Compositae, 45 new lectotypes, 1 epitype and 3 neotypes are designated for names in Phagnalon, Conyza and Pluchea. Typifications are discussed, together with taxonomic notes on these taxa and references to previous lectotypifications. The accepted names for which we propose lectotypifications ar...

The vascular plant names proposed by Carlos Pau from Morocco between 1908 and 1922 were studied and, when necessary and possible, typified. Nine lectotypes for Pau names plus one for a synonym have been designated; most of them preserved in MA and BC herbaria (isolectotypes at BCN, G, LD, and P).

Target enrichment is a cost-effective sequencing technique that holds promise for elucidating evolutionary relationships in fast-evolving lineages. However, potential biases and impact of bioinformatic sequence treatments in phylogenetic inference have not been thoroughly explored yet. Here, we investigate this issue with an ultimate goal to shed l...

A new species of Centaurea sect. Acrocentron (Cass.) DC. (Asteraceae) found growing in dry, steppe‐like habitats on the Zlatibor mountain in western Serbia is described as Centaurea zlatiborensis. This novelity is compared with all other species of C. sect. Acrocentron known from Serbia and a diagnistic key to these is provided. Centaurea zlatibore...

We examined for the first time the leaf micromorphology, phytochemistry and biological activity of the rare and stenoendemic Amphoricarpos elegans Albov (Compositae) from Georgia. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed the presence of glandular trichomes on the leaves, which appeared as glandular dots that are considered the main sites of bios...

Comprising more than 25 000 species, the Sunflower Family (Compositae or Asteraceae) is the largest family of flowering plants. Many of its lineages have experienced recent and rapid radiations, and the family has a deep and widespread history of large-scale gene duplications and polyploidy. Many of the most important evolutionary questions about t...

In this work, weddellite and sylvite crystals are identified for the first time on the involucral bracts and petals of Xeranthemum annuum and Xeranthemum cylindraceum using scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectrometric (SEM-EDS) analysis. Well-developed crystals of weddellite (CaC 2 O 4 ·2H 2 O) occur in the form of a te...

A lectotype is designated for the Linnaean name Centaurea montana from the original material conserved in the Burser herbarium (UPS).

A molecular phylogeny of the genus Echinops (Asteraceae, Cardueae) based on plastid and nuclear markers is presented. The study focuses on the Iranian representatives of the genus, which constitute a larger part of Echinops. The Bayesian cpDNA tree resulted in a large polytomy. However, the Bayesian ITS tree displayed a well-resolved topology more...

Mountains of Anatolia are one of the main Mediterranean biodiversity hotspots and their richness in endemic species amounts for 30% of the flora. Two main factors may account for this high diversity: the complex orography and its role as refugia during past glaciations. We have investigated seven narrow endemics of Centaurea subsection Phalolepis f...

The majority of herbivorous insects are specialized feeders restricted to a plant family, genus, or species. The evolution of specialized insect–plant interactions is generally considered to be a result of trade-offs in fitness between possible hosts. Through the course of natural selection, host plants that maximize insect fitness should result in...

Les radiacions evolutives són processos en els quals moltes espècies o llinatges evolucionen a partir d'un ancestre comú en un període de temps curt. Moltes d'aquestes radiacions en plantes han estat provocades pels aixecaments de muntanyes. La regió muntanyenca de l'Himàlaia-Qinghai-Tibet, a l'oest de Xina, és considerada un dels principals focus...

A new species, Echinops barezicus is described and compared with its closely related taxa. This species is endemic to the southeast of Iran. Morphological evidence confirms its position in E. sect. Oligolepis. Some new synonymizations are proposed: at sectional level, E. sect. Pleiacme is synonymised into E. sect. Oligolepis, and at species and sub...

The use of DNA sequence data in plant systematics has brought us closer than ever to formulating well-founded hypotheses about phylogenetic relationships, and phylogenetic research keeps on revealing that plant genera as traditionally circumscribed often are not monophyletic. Here, we assess the monophyly of genera documented in Rothmaler's "Exkurs...

China tiene una de las floras más ricas del mundo con alrededor 33.000 plantas vasculares, de las cuales hasta 17.000 son endémicas. Además de estas cifras asombrosas, la flora china es muy interesante desde el punto de vista de la evolución, ya que muestra un fuerte carácter relictual con algunos auténticos «fósiles vivientes» como Ginkgo biloba o...

The Achillea millefolium aggregate is one of the most diverse polyploid complexes of the Northern hemisphere and has its western Eurasian boundary in the Iberian Peninsula. Four ploidy levels have been detected in A. millefolium, three of which have already been found in Iberia (diploid, hexaploid and octoploid), and a fourth (tetraploid) reported...

Tragopogon includes two classic examples of recently formed allopolyploid species in North America: T. mirus and T. miscellus . Older Tragopogon allotetraploids from Eurasia offer ideal taxa for comparing the longer term outcomes of allopolyploidy. To help resolve the ancestry of one of these older polyploids, phylogenetic analyses of multiple popu...

Volutaria tubuliflora (Murb.) Sennen (Asteraceae), nueva especie alóctona asilvestrada para Chile Volutaria tubuliflora (Murb.) Sennen (Asteraceae), a new alien species in Chile ABSTRACT Volutaria tubuliflora (Asteraceae-Carduae) is described as a new alien plant species in Chilean vascular flora. The species has the widest range of natural geograp...

In this paper, we summarize the results of our long-date research on the genus Centaurea. The first part of the paper deals with the overall classification of the genus, which we propose to divide into three subgenera: subgenus Centaurea, subgenus Cyanus and subgenus Lopholoma. The second part of this publication gives a recopilation of the species...

In this paper we seek to elucidate the phylogeny of Centaurea sect. Jacea and sect. Phrygia (= sect. Lepteranthus nom. inval.) which have long been a source of controversy. A molecular phylogenetic approach is used based on nrDNA and plastid markers. The study confirmed incongruence between datasets, which can be explained both by hybridization and...

Molecular approaches have greatly increased the number of confirmed homoploid hybrids, which suggests that the frequency of this phenomenon was underestimated in the past because it was much more difficult to detect than allopolyploidy. Centaurea is a suitable model group for studying homoploid speciation, as hybridization events have been commonly...